Maleia Mireles
Archer Heights rallies for Maleia
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DLS freshman battles leukemia
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By Tim Hadac
The greater Archer Heights community continues to rally around the family of a 14-year-old girl recently diagnosed with Stage 4 B-Cell Prolymphocytic Leukemia.
While the family of Maleia Mireles—still in shock over the news–declined to speak on the record, a family friend has launched a GoFundMe.com campaign to raise funds to help the blue-collar family pay what is expected to be a mountain of medical bills.
Maleia Mireles
The campaign started by Erica Lopez initially had a goal of $5,000. That was reached within about a day, so the bar was raised to $17,500. But as of earlier this week, that too had been surpassed, with 180 people and small businesses donating a total of $17,549.
“I have created this [fundraiser] with the permission of both Carlos and Letty Mireles (Maleia’s parents),” Lopez wrote. “My heart is extremely heavy…Maleia, a freshman at De La Salle Institute, a St. Richard School graduate and a softball and volleyball player has a long journey ahead of her as she battles this rare form of cancer.
“Her loving parents Carlos and Letty, brother Xavier, sister Anela, family, friends, and teammates are obviously devastated with this unexpected diagnosis. She is currently in the pediatric ICU at Christ Children’s Hospital. She has a tough battle ahead of her and will be staying at the hospital for the time being, receiving chemotherapy multiple times a week.”
Lopez added that the girl’s parents “will need to take time off of work to be by her side on her journey. This will cause a financial strain on top of the already emotional strain this has caused the family.”
Maleia also played softball with Archer Manor Little League, and a number of AMLL families have stepped forward to assist.
“The [Mireles] family has volunteered quite a bit over the years to help the community,” one family friend told the Greater Southwest News-Herald. “Now it’s time for the community to help them.
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